Ellison claims 5th District

Despite a tense campaign, U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison easily won re-election to represent the 5th Congressional District in Congress.

Ellison faced a challenge by Republican Chris Fields, a retired Marine running in his first campaign. With 50 percent of the vote counted, Ellison had brought in twice as many votes as Fields, though. Ellison, a member of the DFL Party, had received 108,071 votes, unofficially, while Fields had taken in 47,243. Write-in votes totaled 387.

In a victory speech to supporters, Ellison mainly focused on Democratic victories on the national level.

“Make some noise!” Ellison said. “You know, you guys, we’re having a good night.”

He praised U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar for her victory and added, “All over the country, things are looking good.”

He added, “We should feel good about it because we’re at this place in time because of your hard work. You deserve to party tonight. You deserve to have a good time because you know what? You worked hard and you got us here.”

He thanked his campaign staff as well as the DFL Party.

“We are so proud to be DFLers tonight,” Ellison said.

While wearing a shirt that read, “TAKE ACTION MN,” Ellison spoke about his opposition to constitutional amendments on the Minnesota ballot as well as his optimism regarding President Barack Obama.

“Get out there tonight and never, ever give up on your dreams,” he told supporters. “We’re going to win tonight.”

Ellison did not mention his opponent during his speech. Fields could not be immediately reached for comment. His campaign website and Twitter feed also had not been updated after polls closed.